2015 WILC Press Release

The Finland National Team has confirmed they will make their international indoor lacrosse debut at the 2015 FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championships, held at Tsha’Hon’nonyen’dakhwa’ Onondaga Nation Arena near Syracuse, N.Y., and First Niagara Center in Buffalo, N.Y., in September of 2015.
“We are excited to push this forward and see where we stand on the international level,” said Finnish Lacrosse Association president Matti Tähkäpää.

The 2015 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship is truly an historical event, as it is the first time an indigenous community, the Haudenosaunee, is to host a world championship. Gewas Schindler, WILC Co-Director said, “Haudenosaunee is the host nation and we are all extremely pleased to receive Finland’s commitment to attend the 2015 WILC games.”

“There has been a group of Finnish indoor lacrosse enthusiasts who have actively taken part in European club tournaments in Stockholm and Prague, and their efforts paid off last spring when we ran our first Finland indoor league. We realize as a hockey nation that transitioning to the indoor game is a natural progression for us. Like in hockey, our cornerstones in indoor lacrosse will be goaltending and teamwork. I’m very excited for Finnish Lacrosse that we are now having a team in every FIL world tournament,” says Finland spokesperson Matti Tähkäpää.

Lacrosse officially arrived in Finland in the summer of 2001, and Finland’s field program has been a strong contender since its’ debut in 2004. They most recently finished 7th in the 2012 European Championships and 12th in the 2010 World Championships.

Eight nations competed in the 2011 World Indoor Lacrosse Championships — Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, England, Ireland, Iroquois Nationals, Slovakia, and the United States — “Finland, Israel, Thailand and Turkey have committed to joining as new teams in 2015, with potential interest also coming from teams in seven other countries”, said Scott Neiss, WILC Executive Committee.